poetry

An excerpt from the novel Lonesome travelers

“If you dare to struggle, you dare to win.”

—Fred Hampton

Rabbit Digs the Hole

Rabbit needed a place to rest. And the safety in the open was a matter, as usual, of grave importance.

So he claimed the right of the land and began to dig. Down. Sloping down. Into the cool and welcoming Earth. Some creatures were displaced, with as much grace as could be administered in the circumstance, and the network of tunnels joined the network of tunnels that formed the local underground. A refuge of perpetual night.

One digs to escape, dig it?

There were moles in the underground.

It was to be expected. As the Rabbit was relaxing after a cool dig, in the splendor of his new digs, one of the moles literally tripped over him.

“I say, who’s there?” shouted a mole in a hoarse whisper.

“I am just an adventurer,” said the Rabbit. “I am not a fighter.”

One digs to escape, dig it?

“Well, sir,” said the mole, “you are a malingerer! Hiding away from the troubles of the world! A shirker. What do you say for yourself?”

“At the moment,” said Rabbit, “nothing.”

The accusation was not without some merit.

“Deadly silence,” said the mole.

And there were dim eyes all around. They shone in the light of the Fire. In the underground. There were moles in the underground. Suspicious. For good reason.

One digs to escape.

“We are the consolidated underground,” said the mole. “We are what is left of those who came before. Scraps. Bits and pieces.”

“Where will you go from here?” asked Rabbit.

“Onward,” said the mole. “To the inevitable ending. We fight no longer to win, no longer is it personal survival which drives us. We fight especially hard when we cannot win, for then our actions matter even more. For then it is a matter of righteous history.” He shrugged his slight shoulders. “We travel the underground. It provides escape routes and comfort. Comfort is, you know, fleeting in this world.”

Among the moles were scattered others. To the far side was a shrew. Her eyes illuminated and flickered reflecting the Rabbit’s light.

Dig it?

“Now,” said the mole, “we construct the story of our glory. Battling against great odds we keep true to our ethics. And hope that our ideals emerge victorious. You see young Vanja. She joined us after her village was destroyed. We have scattered into cells and travel the tunnels. We emerge one at a time and tell our story at random locations, to random listeners. Then we retreat back underground. It is the only way. Vanja is particularly adept at this kind of warfare. It is like starting a thousand fires. It is uncontrollable. It is unconquerable.”

“Have you heard,” said Vanja, “the song of the traveler? It is reverberating everywhere. The traveler landed in a field. Fell out of the sky. And arose. It was a celebratory feast the traveler had landed on the outskirts of. There were park benches and food. Flowers. And merriment. But the traveler saw above the festivities hung the body of a man, dangling over the events. Still. And no one else gazed toward the sight. Instead, children played and lovers fraternized, even quarreled over trifles, while above the man twisted in the happy breeze. And the traveler said, ‘Who is that man? Why does he hang around here?’ And the crowd turned ugly. For it was not a topic of polite conversation. And words were minced. And there were misunderstandings and malice. And the traveler left, for it was not the destination, you see, but afterward people kept looking at the hanging man, who they had previously forgotten. And they were ashamed. But they did not know what to do about it. And that is how the picnic was spoiled, but there were disagreements about why.”